Sunday Jobs: When in doubt, leave it out

Sep. 30, 2011

Written by

Andrea Kay, Gannett

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I hear a lot of fretting from career changers who are ready to write their resumes.

Fret no more.

Before you craft a single sentence, here’s the one and only guideline you will need to know on whether to include something in your resume: Does this information position me the way I want to be seen?

If the information isn’t relevant, doesn’t support your new career objective or doesn’t help build a case for how you want an employer to see you, leave it off.

Yes, that means you may not list every job you’ve had. It could mean leaving off the first 10 years of your work life.

But what if, under any circumstances, you don’t want to leave gaps? Here are a few solutions.

First, in a broad summary statement early on, reference the fact that you have 10 years, for example, in public relations.

When it comes to listing experience, write a phrase that explains what you were doing from 1995 to 2002 that plays it down - “Prior positions include” — and then list those jobs.

Or, let’s say you’re making a change from database analyst to sales and while in transition you’ve had several jobs unrelated to either role. Try this sentence: ”Other positions include temporary administrative jobs.”

For whatever reason, it might be important to show that you worked during a period, but the details aren’t relevant to what you want to do next. So again, de-emphasize it, listing the jobs without going into detail.

Keep this goal fixed in your mind as you write the other sections of your resume: Help the reader understand your potential to be successful in this new career. Show the reader you not only have past experience, but also relevant, transferable skills, newly acquired knowledge — if you’ve gotten more education — and the passion that qualifies you for this new career.

Be sure to:

• Make a point to state your transferable skills, so the reader can make the leap.

• List relevant achievements from your past that illustrate how you made a difference and can do so in this new career.

For example, one of my clients was a nurse who wanted to show that she had skills, knowledge and hands-on experience in communications, the area she wanted to work in. So she included this achievement:

”Assisted in development of a documentary film that was viewed by 9 million students and contributed to a significant reduction in traumatic injuries.”

This client with a nonprofit background wanted to show his strategic-marketing and planning skills. He listed this achievement:

”Developed and implemented a communications strategy that resulted in the passage of a $90 million tax levy.”

This person, who had been in highly technical roles, wanted to be a trainer. She used this achievement on her new resume:

”Trained team of designers on Macintosh operating procedures that significantly enhanced graphic presentations.”

Be careful not to cross the line between persuasive marketing and lying.

Lying would be misrepresenting number of years you’ve done something, exaggerating or taking credit for something you didn’t do.

When writing any kind of resume — career changer or not — I don’t believe in a lot of rules except one: Never lie.

But when it comes to creating the best marketing document to help potential employers see that you’ve got what it takes to be successful in a new career, the rule is this: Don’t tell all; do tell what’s relevant.